1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wristwatch in which a band is releasably attached to a case band.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a known wristwatch, band ends are connected to two-forked bow legs provided at portions of a case band corresponding to 6 and 12 of a dial via connection pieces. For the purpose of this connection, the top piece (connection pieces) attached to the band end has a through hole extending in its lateral (width) direction, while a couple of the bow legs between which a bow crotch for receiving the top piece is formed each have an attachment hole. An expandable and contractible spring bar provided with an end shaft having a spring force in a projecting direction at each of its ends in the shaft direction is included, and the band is connected to the case band by inserting the spring bar into the top piece and also by inserting both the end shafts of the spring bar into the corresponding attachment holes of the bow legs. (The wristwatch having this structure is disclosed in JP-A-2000-33004 (paragraphs 0018 through 0022, FIGS. 1 through 4), for example.).
According to a conventional example, the end shafts of the spring bar inserted into the attachment holes of the bow legs are required to be shifted in opposition to the strong spring force to separate the end shafts from the attachment holes of the bow legs by inserting a special-purpose tool into a space between the bow legs and a concave formed in the connection piece when it is desired to release the connection between the band and the case band, which is inconvenient for a user. Conversely, the above specialized tool is also used to handle the spring bar when the wristwatch is assembled or when the user attaches the band to the case band, which is inconvenient similarly. In addition, the shaft ends of the spring bar have a force in the projecting direction as described above. Thus, if the tips of the shaft ends of the spring bar happen to rub against the bow leg of the case band at the time of attachment of the band by the user, there is a possibility of damaging the case band.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a wristwatch in which a band can be easily attached to and detached from a case band without damaging the case band.